


Period Pains

by winryofresembool



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, LITERALLY, Periods, fluff too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 16:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18123695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winryofresembool/pseuds/winryofresembool
Summary: Winry suffers from period pains, and Ed tries his best to help her feel better (post-Promised day, Ed&Winry are not together yet).





	Period Pains

**Author's Note:**

> Probably not the most original story idea, but some personal experiences made me want to write this. I just love to think that Ed is that person who’d be willing to do a whole lot to help Winry feel better. Please enjoy and ///comment///

”Owwww…”

It was already well past midnight. Edward couldn’t get any sleep, so he decided to go downstairs to get water to relieve the dryness in his mouth. When he passed Winry’s room, he heard moaning from there and saw through the small gap under the door that the light was still on, so she must have still been awake. At first he was just going to continue his path to the kitchen, but then he heard another moan and hesitantly turned towards the door, knocking on it lightly.

“Win? Can I come in?”

“S-sure,” a tiny, pained voice said from the other side of the door.

“What’s the matter?” Ed asked when he opened the door and saw Winry squirming in her bed, squeezing a pillow in her arms, her face twisted in pain. That looked pretty serious in his opinion.

“Nothing!” Winry yelled angrily, loud enough that Ed got nervous she might have woken Pinako or Al up. “Nothing at all. So if that’s all you…”

“No,” Ed said, genuinely worried. “Clearly you are hurting.” He gestured towards the pillow. “… So, I need to know what’s wrong. Are you sick? Or did you accidentally drill your finger or something?”

“Can you just please. Go. Away! This is already embarrassing enough as it is,” Winry growled, continuing to squeeze the pillow so hard Ed suspected if it had been a person in her arms, they would probably be dead already.

“I don’t understand you at all!” Ed started getting frustrated and also slightly hurt that she didn’t want his help. “At first you said I can come in, and then you just… tell me to go away. I just wanted to help, you know.”

Winry looked at him through her tearful eyes and said: “No. Ed. Sorry. It’s just the freaking mood swings. I don’t think I know what I want myself…” Another cramp hit her lower abdomen and once it calmed down a bit, she breathed: “… Except for this goddamn pain to go away!”

“Are you having a stomach flu? Food poisoning?” Ed asked as he saw Winry trying to rub her stomach through the pajama shirt to ease the feeling. Whatever it was, it must be pretty bad since Winry never cursed in front of him. Except when she got really angry.

“No! Neither!” She yelped. For some reason she also looked slightly embarrassed, but Ed couldn’t understand why.

“Then what is it? C’mon, you can tell me,” Ed urged her.

“I’m. on. my. period. Ed.” Winry snarled through her teeth, and finally Ed understood her reaction. He blushed and started rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

To himself, Ed admitted that he didn’t know much about periods, just some random information he remembered reading when studying the human anatomy before he and Al had… Having been just 10 back then, he remembered being slightly shocked and grossed out. Maybe it still sounded a bit gross, but from an alchemist’s point of view, it felt quite a natural phenomenon. After all, pretty much everyone with women’s reproductive organs had to go through it that’s what the chemicals inside people did, and because of the said organs they were also able to carry a baby. He just wished the period wouldn’t have to cause Winry this much pain. If he could help her, he would, he decided.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” He finally said.

“It’s not your fault,” Winry said, already much calmer than a little while ago. She must have sensed the worry in his voice, and she couldn’t be angry at someone who just wanted to take care of her. “Actually, there is something you can do… I need something to ease this pain. Do you think granny’s whiskey would help?”

“I’m not sure that’s the smartest idea.” Ed shrugged. “You’d feel even worse tomorrow. Besides, the old hag notices everything. She’d know you took it.”

“Could you not call her that? Ugh, I guess you could bring me some painkillers then. And tea. And maybe a hot water bottle. And choooocolate if you can find any.” She let a small whiny noise as she finished her list.

“Was that all?” Ed snorted. “Painkillers, tea, hot water bottle, chocolate,” he repeated mainly to himself. “Okay. Sounds doable.”

“Then just go,” Winry sobbed as another wave of pain took over her body.

Surprisingly fast, Ed managed to find all the things Winry wanted, even a piece of chocolate Pinako kept hidden for the smallest patients who had a tough time handling the automail tune-ups. Maybe he should have let it be, but desperate times call for desperate measures, Ed thought.

The effort was worth it, because about 10 minutes after Ed returned upstairs with a tray in his hands, Winry was snuggling against his side contently, feeling notably better. She gulped down the last of her tea and bit a piece of chocolate, casting Ed a weary look.

“There’s more one thing you could do…”

“What is it?” Ed looked at her, getting pretty tired himself.

“Could you maybe massage my lower back a bit? It’s feeling so stiff…”

“Oh. Okay. But just for a bit. I want to sleep too, you know.”

“Yada yada. Be grateful you don’t have to go through this pain,” Winry turned to glance at him angrily, then settled on her stomach on her bed, putting the hot water bottle under her and leaning her head against her pillow. Ed started rubbing her lower back (trying his best to ignore the curves below it) through her thin pajamas, but Winry wasn’t happy with that.

“Ed! Under the shirt. You can touch my skin, you know.”

Hs face now completely red, he lifted the shirt enough that he could see her lower back, and put his hand against her warm skin.

“Ow! Your hands are so cold,” Winry complained when the cool sensation struck her.

“You were the one who asked me to massage you,” Ed retorted back, but started rubbing his hands against each other to warm them up before continuing. Soon enough Winry was purring happily like a cat under his hands, and Ed secretly wished he could deal with some of his unresolved feelings to maybe they could do this (and maybe a bit more than just a massage) more often. A comfortable silence fell between them, and eventually Ed thought Winry had fallen asleep. When he stood up from the bed, though, Winry grabbed his wrist and stopped him from going any farther. Ed spun back towards her and gave her an annoyed look.

“Look, I’m sorry you’re hurting and I wish I could kick that pain’s ass, but I’m really getting tired and…”

“No, I’m sorry,” Winry mumbled wearily. “I acted like a bitch towards you. You were super nice and helpful and I was just complaining like a little kid…”

“It’s OK, Winry,” Ed’s face softened. “I would probably be a hundred times worse if I had to suffer through that.”

“Believe it or not, you’re really sweet.” Winry smiled at him. “Thank you for helping me. I feel a lot better now.”

“I’m glad.”

Suddenly Ed was painfully aware that they were still holding hands. He had been drawing small circles with his thumb on the back of her hand, but he stopped when he noticed Winry was looking at it with a weird expression.

“What?”

“All this… why did you do it?” Winry asked.

“I don’t know? Maybe I wanted to make you feel better?”

“But… why?”

“Shouldn’t it be obvious?” Ed sighed and in a moment of softness leaned down to give her a quick kiss on her forehead. “Just… get some sleep. Let’s talk about it when you’re feeling better.”

“Okay,” Winry agreed. Ed was already by the door when she said with a tiny smile on her face: “Hey, Ed…”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks again.”

“Any time,” Ed answered and closed the door behind him, wondering if that small smile was going to be the end of him.


End file.
